Solar energy has experienced major scale globally in recent years. Today, as prices continue to drop and technologies improve, developing countries are beginning to capitalize on its offerings. Startups are popping up all over Sub-saharan Africa and rural India, offering BoP consumers access to clean, sustainable electricity at affordable prices. Below are articles highlighting the opportunities that solar offers to developing countries, and how startups, like our portfolio companies Simpa Networks and SolarNow are experiencing … read more
Progress in Solar for Energy Access
Access to clean, affordable energy for the rural poor is an issue that we are actively trying to solve. Solar power is a great solution, but solar products often have large up-front costs and the rural population can be skeptical about purchasing technologies they know little about. Entrepreneurs are taking the initiative to overcome these obstacles by creating innovative financing models or technical solutions such as integrating pay-as-you-go technologies with solar products, notably our own … read more
SolarNow’s Solar Systems for Schools – Education, Energy, and the Digital Divide in Africa
Last week, we wrote about the importance of connectivity in education in Africa. In this post, we’ll focus on a solution that our portfolio company SolarNow provides. When it comes to education, electricity is critical for reading lights, internet connectivity, as well as for a wide variety of education technologies that schools can use to improve their outcomes. SolarNow is working to provide these key ingredients for improved education by designing PV solar systems … read more
Impact Investing News
Social entrepreneurs have to do it all: innovate, develop solid business models, pitch them well, and measure impact. This week’s articles on impact investing cover all of these topics, as well as exciting ID partner and BSP Fund portfolio news.
“Defining Impact Investing: A Call to Action” by Beth Sirull and Ben Thornley on Stanford Social Innovation Review
Many people continue to seek a clear definition for the term “impact investing.” Sirull and … read more
Invested Development Invests in SolarNow to Provide Affordable Solar Home Systems in Uganda
Invested Development Invests in SolarNow to Provide Affordable Solar Home Systems in Uganda
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2013
Boston, MA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, & Kampala, Uganda – Invested Development, an emerging markets-focused social impact investment company, has invested in SolarNow, a Dutch social enterprise operating in Uganda. SolarNow combines a franchise model with an end-user credit facility to provide affordable solar home systems (SHSs) in Uganda. There are 4 million off-grid households in Uganda, … read more